This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Author: Sporkmaster

  • Terry Achane Wins permanent custody of his Daughter.

    I know that I am late reporting this but I wanted to let everyone know who is not or not. On February 11th it was announced on Facebook that the Frei family has withdrawn their appeal to the Utah Supreme Court. This means that the legal battle is over and Terry Achane has permanent custody of his daughter.

    “After considerable thought and reflection under heart-wrenching circumstances, the Freis have decided not to pursue their appeal of this contested adoption. Although the Freis remain convinced that the district court committed significant legal errors in this case, they believe that it would be best for the child to drop their appeal now that she has been transferred into the custody of Mr. Achane. The Freis are committed to working with Mr. Achane to assist the child in making a successful transition. Because the Freis love the child deeply and want her to succeed in life, they are willing to put her needs before their own hopes and desires and would rather drop the appeal than risk the child suffering potential psychological and emotional consequences resulting from her either not making a successful transition or transitioning to caregivers multiple times in this critical stage of her development.”

    That is the good news. The bad news is that Terry Achane has a considerable legal bill. The Facebook page Support Terry Achane is requesting assistance in helping pay for his legal fees. The link for more information on how to help is provided here.

  • Update on SSG Terry Achane.

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    It seems that a lot has happens since the last post in Jan 25th that announced that Terry Achane will have custody of his Daughter for the time being. Since then the fabebook page “Support Terry Achane has been helping out by setting up a online registry to provide all the things that a two year old would need. The support from just watching the facebook has been nothing short of amazing and that even when money is tight that people are willing to help out. Also the site is still asking for support in helping with the legal fees and that the case is still ongoing. The hearing should be in Early August. I will try to update at possible.

  • Warrior Voices Veterans: learn to write the words they could not speak.(Update)

    This was going to be just about the this story that was re-posted by the American Legions Facebook, but since Casey Porter’s Movie “Present Day” is being debuted today I wanted to include this as well.

    The first one is about finding a better way to treat PTSD and other issues that happen after returning from deployments. Ron Capps is trying using writing as a way to help Veterans deal and overcome these issues. The idea come from writing about his own experiences with when he wrote a article in 2009 called;Back From The Brink: War, Suicide, And PTSD. Now he has helped form a outlet for Veterans to write in the same way that he did in 2009. It is called the Veterans Writing Project.

    At The Veterans Writing Project we believe that every veteran has a story. We know that some of us need a little help telling that story. So we provide no-cost writing seminars and workshops for veterans, active and reserve service members, and military family members. We publish a quarterly literary review, a podcast and an ongoing scroll of writing by our friends on our sister site, O-Dark-Thirty. Soon, we’ll begin publishing books through our publishing branch, BCG Books.

    We approach our work with three goals in mind. The first is literary. We believe there is a new wave of great literature coming and that much of that will be written by veterans and their families. The next is social. We have in the United States right now the smallest ever proportion of our population in service during a time of war. Less than 1% of Americans have taken part in these most recent wars. Our WWII veterans are dying off at a rate of nearly 1000 per day. We want to put as many of these stories in front of as many readers as we can. Finally, writing is therapeutic. Returning warriors have known for centuries the healing power of narrative. We give veterans the skills they need to capture their stories and do so in an environment of mutual trust and respect.

    Also this is helpful in dealing with integration after returning home.

    Ms. Hoit received critiques from other veterans; she trusted their reactions. She had recently graduated from the University at Albany, where she studied journalism. She was no stranger to sharing her writing, but had found civilian classrooms awkward and frustrating. She had felt judged for her subject matter.

    Even now, as a student in Johns Hopkins’s M.F.A. program, she finds herself battling stereotypes. After one reading, a classmate asked her, “Why would anyone join the military if they didn’t want to kill someone?” She is angry about the “media-shaped” portrayal of the wars and feels a responsibility to “reshape that picture and ground it into truth.”

    “It’s like people think the only people who join the military are poor or lesbians,” she says.

    Several other writing websites were listed in the article to include Army of Dude who comments here from time to time.

    Also today Casey Porter has been working with the Moonlight Fund group to produce the movie “Present Day” that opened in the Boerne Community Theater.

    In closing I think that there any many stories that exist that need to be heard but are not. This because they do not fit into what Society has imaged was serving in the military is like. For this reason Veterans hesitant on telling people their experiences let along asking for help with the many issues that one can face due to the fear that one is going to be labeled as a Crazy Veteran. It does not help that the media keeps this stereotype alive and well.

    Also it is important that you can help Veterans of all eras by simply showing that you care by simply asking;”How can I help you?”. It is as simple as that. There are many people that are listed above that could use your assistance right now.

    Update:Casey Porter wanted to let everyone know that the video will put online on February 11th and the new trailer can be found here. Additional links are posted were you can follow the newest updates for this film.

  • Fifteen year old Hadiya Pendleton dies in Chicago shooting.

    So it seems that fifteen year old aspiring singer Hadiya Pendleton was the latest victim from gun violence in Chicago. What makes this shooting stand out from other shootings is that Hadiya Pendleton took part in the inauguration festivities.

    Pendleton was an honor student, volleyball player, and majorette at King College Prep, according to CBS 2 in Chicago. She was a member of the school’s marching band that traveled to Washington to perform during the inauguration festivities last week. She had also been preparing to travel to Paris with her school, according to the Tribune.

    So now with President Obama making his case for additional gun laws, restrictions and possible bans on certain fire arms will he respond to this murder? If he is going to make the case that shootings like the ones we have seen in the past might have been prevented in the past from the gun laws similar to Chicago then he should explain how shootings like this are still happening. Also if one view that guns will manage to slip through to the wrong hands despite the laws is not viewed as a acceptable answer for shootings like Sandy Hook then why should it be viewed as a acceptable answer here?

    Local Police is asking for anyone with information in this case to come forward to help bring this killer to justice.

  • Team S-1, Assemble.

    Ok there is a rumor that is going around work that the Canadian Jump Wings are no longer going to be a authorized Foreign Badge to be worn on Army ASU/Class A Uniform. I do not have any written documents saying if this is true or not. The reasoning behind this is that the training that one must go through to get the Canadian Jump Wings to too similar to the requirements for US Jump wings. The fact that US personal are not leading the jumps is not enough to consider the badge a Foreign Badge anymore. I was told that I might be able to get a copy of the new document tomorrow.

    I have been looking up the past regulations such as Section 578.120 – Foreign badges. The badge is still being listed on HRCs website as a approved badge for wear. There is something that I found but I am not able to find the full message.

    MILPER MSG 12-336 23 OCT 2012

    Corrected Policy and Procedures for Processing Foreign Military Personnel Awards

    Has anyone else heard anything about this or similar to this?

  • Terry Achane reunited with daughter.

    Today SSG(Drill Sgt) Terry Achane was reunited with his daughter today.

    It was a happy ending to Achane’s lengthy court battle to gain custody of the girl, who was placed for adoption at birth without his knowledge.

    “I’m very happy,” a smiling Achane (pronounced A-chan) said Friday. “It’s 22 months too long — but the wait was worth it. I’ve got my daughter.”

    The father and daughter will leave for Fort Jackson in South Carolina on Saturday. Waiting for them is Achane’s extended family, who can’t wait to meet Teleah.

    So it looks like this is the conclusion to this who ordeal and that this case is bringing attention to the adoption laws in Utah that have some people caling Utah a place to “buy a baby”.

    Hutchins has served as the president of the Utah Adoption Council and says he wanted to investigate an unsettling hunch.

    He had employees from his law firm called adoption agencies at random. They posed as a woman asking about the process for an expectant mom from another state. The woman said her sister was unexpectedly pregnant, unmarried and wanted to place the child, but the birth father did not.

    Hutchins recorded those conversations.

    One agency said, “If he’s going to just be a total pain in the butt, then we can definitely just not have him involved at all.”

    Another said, “I’d say literally over 99 percent of the time the guys just get caught up in it and everything, and then they find out they’re gonna have to pay $30,000 in legal fees, they’re just like, ‘Whatever, never mind.‘”

    “Many adoption agency actually coach on what they should say and what they should do and what they shouldn’t say and what they shouldn’t do in order to keep birth fathers in the dark,” Hutchins said.

    On the recordings, a counselor said, “Well, [the birth mother] won’t have to worry about [the birth father]. Let’s just put it that way.”

    Another said, “You can tell the birth father anything after you give birth; might be easier to tell the birth father that you were in an accident, and the baby died.”

    Also there is more on this coaching business.

    Hutchins presented the transcripts to the Utah legislature saying the coaching from some adoption agencies is at the very least manipulative and wrong. He used them as evidence that the law in Utah needs to be changed.

    “For example, they’ll say, ‘Don’t tell the birth father that you are coming to Utah. Wait until just before you are ready to come, and then send him a little text message, make sure you keep a copy of it, that you are going to Utah temporarily, but you’ll be back,’” Hutchins said.

    Manzanares says that mirrors what happened to him.

    “I’ll be flying to Utah to visit my father in Feb. for a week maybe a little longer,” A message from Terry said, in part. “In April, I will be willing to sit down and talk with you.”

    On a final note.

    Manzanares is the first father to fight the Utah adoption system and win. His name is now on his daughter’s birth certificate, and he has earned custody rights

    Now it is at least two. Granted this is a win but with all the information coming from this case the people of Utah have some major issues to fix. Thank you to commenter JO for the link.

  • Good News Everybody.(Updated)

    A yesterday ago the Utah Supreme Court put a stay on the a ruling that would allowed Terry Achane to be reunited with his daughter. Well it seem that less then twenty four hours later that the hold has been removed.

    The Utah Supreme Court on Friday declined to stay a trial court judge’s order giving a married father custody of a child who was placed for adoption at birth without the father’s consent or knowledge. The court also set an expedited hearing for the appeal.

    While it is good news that the stay was removed. Also according to the court ruling that any further request for time extensions would be denied. However it does no explicitly say that Terry Achane will get his daughter back. Only that the hearing will be held on March of this year.

    “In plain English: Teleah is going home to her father,” said attorney Scott Wiser, who with his father, Mark, represents Achane, in a post on Facebook.

    The Utah Supreme Court denied the stay. This means the district court’s ruling is back in effect. The district court has to schedule a new hearing (the 16th was canceled due to the provisional stay) which will hopefully be next week. Teleah will go home with Terry at that time and will remain with her through the appeals.

    But as optimistic I would like to be, I will not be confident that he will get his daughter back until it actually happens. I mean this was suppose to have happened on January 16th.

    There is a good statement made on Terry Achane’s Facebook.

    One thing I have an extremely hard time understanding is how the Frei family has repeatedly stated and written in their blog that Terry abandoned Tira. How is changing a duty assignment abandonment?

    I think the Frei’s should take an extremely close look at themselves and what they truly believe. I think they should ask themselves, “Did our nephews, that are currently in Afghanistan, abandon their children? Would we approve what we are doing to Terry to their children?”

    The military does not give you much of an option. You go or you get in trouble. Does this make the nephews of the Frei’s horrible parents? They are currently in Afghanistan after all. Isn’t this why they claim Terry is an unfit parent?

    New updates can be found here.

    Updated: The Statement provided by Jared and Kristi Frei to KUTV. I am posting the statement here just in case it is deleted later.

    Twenty-one months ago the birth mother made the decision to give her child up for adoption because she had been abandoned by her husband when she was seven months pregnant. He cut her off from all financial, physical and emotional support, leaving the mother with the sole burden of determining what was in the child’s best interests. The birth father took almost no efforts to determine the whereabouts of his child after her birth until the mother informed him of the adoption several months after birth.

    Upon being notified of the adoption, he took the step of hiring an attorney to oppose the adoption, but has taken no steps, other than one 3 hour visit with the child when he came to Utah for his deposition, to form any bond or relationship with the child. Despite the parties being in frequent contact with each other over the last 15 months during the adoption process, the father has never sent the child a letter or gift, even on her birthday and at Christmas. He has never requested any update on her health and well-being. He never tried to call her on the phone or video conference with her. The law requires a father to at least attempt to form a relationship with his child to show he is not disregarding his parental obligations. If he fails in this regard over an extended period of time, it is considered abandonment, regardless of the fact that he has hired an attorney to object to the adoption.

    The court’s ruling relies heavily on the determination that the adoptive parents were required to return the child immediately when the father requested. However, the Utah Adoption Act clearly states that once a child is placed with an adoption agency or adoptive parents, they shall have custody pending further order from the court. The father never sought custody during the adoption process so there was never a court order requiring either the agency or adoptive parents to relinquish custody. See UCA 78B-6-134.

    We are deeply saddened by the court’s decision in the case to give the child back to a father she does not know at all. We believe the court made serious legal errors in his decision and will address these concerns with the Utah Court of Appeals.

  • Terry Achane’s reunion with daughter put on hold.

    About a month ago Jonn posted about the Terry Achane ongoing legal battle for the custody of his two year old daughter. Today was suppose to be the day that Father and daughter would be reunited. But this has been canceled due to a stay from the Utah Supreme Judge.

    The Utah Supreme Court today put a temporary hold on a trial judge’s orders to return a little girl to her soldier father after she was given up for adoption without his consent two years ago.

    The Salt Lake Tribune posted the reason for the stay in the following statement.

    The high court said the provisional stay on the petition for emergency relief filed by the adoptive parents would give it “the time necessary to adjudicate the request for emergency relief,” but did not indicate how long that might take.

    “It could be a day or two, it could be a week,” Wiser said.

    This happened eleven days after the presiding Utah Judge refused to stay his judgement. I was wanting that this have a better outcome, but the sliver lining is that the process is not over. You can follow this story on Terry’s Facebook support page.